1y ago

How Accidental Geoengineering May Be Affecting Climate Change. [Re: rise in sea temperature]

threadreaderapp.com Thread by @hankgreen on Thread Reader App

@hankgreen: Massively under-reported science story because there's so much going on right now but...it turns out that we might have figured out what's causing this very scary spike. Quick thread, on how WE'VE BEEN A...…

Scientists have discovered that the recent spike in global temperatures may be caused by a reduction in sulfur dioxide pollution from shipping vessels. Ships have long emitted sulfur dioxide, which cools the planet by seeding clouds and reflecting sunlight. However, new regulations that limit sulfur in ship fuels took effect in 2020, leading to a loss of this cooling effect equivalent to a large volcanic eruption each year. Models show this reduction in sulfur dioxide pollution can explain the extra warming seen in the North Atlantic. While pollution is bad, the new regulations provide a natural experiment that gives insight into how intentional geoengineering could potentially combat climate change in the future.

19 comments

My fear with geoengineering is that is allows us to become complacent about solving the primary problems, and then also creates its own set of unexpected secondary problems.
- become complacent about solving the primary problems
  We have been complacent about solving the primary problems for decades. At this point we should be doing all we can, and if a way to combat the symptoms gives us more time to finally get our shit together and do something useful before everyone turns into doomers giving up because it's too late anyway then I think that's a good thing.
- At least to your second point, in the video he explains that there are ways to seed clouds for cooling purposes without any major side effects, and the experiment hes talking about is that this shows it can be done on a large scale. Whether it would make us complacent on getting CO2 out of the air, though, it might but at least it would be the start of a solution.
  
  Right, but their point was kind of about side-effects we're not aware of at the time. So that's kind of the entire point, that we think there are no negative side effects only to later find out we were wrong.
  So that doesn't really address what they said at all.
  
  Sounds like something China can pioneer and that the West will adopt a decade or so later after China shows it really does have no major side effects.
- You think we can solve primary problems? Cause all I see is us driving off a cliff. If we aren't willing to hit the breaks I'll settle for turning the car into a bush

Hear me out guys, why don't we just put a giant ice cube in the ocean to combat rising temps?
- Thus solving the problem once and for all!
  
  But-- ☝️

Got my idea to build the torment nexus from the hit sci-fi novel "Don't Build the Torment Nexus".

Fascinating. Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson deals with the same Sulphur as a way to combat global warming.

This is the primary component in producing acid rain, right?

Fascinating. I heard something similar with particle pollution in big cities.

Geoengineering is a huge gamble and I want humanity to take it..

Hank Green has a video about this and maybe we can safely replicate the sulfur dioxide's effects by shooting sea water into the air.
https://youtu.be/dk8pwE3IByg
- I'm not sure that spreading salt is a good idea when you consider that salt kills life when you spread it on land.
  
  I think the idea is to do it over oceans.

19 comments